Both local teams dropped from U.P. football poll

October 16, 2012

HOUGHTON - Only one of them lost, but both local teams fell out of the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association's penultimate football poll of the 2012 season.

Both Calumet and L'Anse are taking up residence in the 'others receiving votes' category of their respective polls.

The catalyst pushing Calumet out in the Division 1-7 ranking took place in Marquette, where the host Redmen handed Negaunee its first loss of the year, 34-26.

Alex Sherbinow had four touchdowns and 252 rushing yards for the Redmen, who couldn't have needed it more. Marquette has no Week 9 opponent, so entering the game 4-3, they needed to win it to ensure automatic playoff qualification.

Negaunee led by 12 late in the first half, but came within a David Bashaw end zone interception of having a chance to tie it with a two-point conversion.

Marquette jumped from the others receiving votes category into fifth place with eight poll points. Negaunee fell from second to third.

Fact Box

DIVISION?1-7

1. Kingsford (5) 7-1 25

2. Menominee 7-1 20

3. Negaunee 7-1 12

4. Ishpeming 7-1 9

5. Marquette 5-3 8

OTHER: Calumet 5-3, 1

DIVISION?8

1. N. Dickinson (3) 8-0 23

2. St. Ignace (2) 8-0 22

3. Stephenson 6-2 11

4. Gogebic 5-2 10

5. Forest Park 6-2 5

OTHERS: L'Anse 7-1 2, Pickford 6-2 2

EIGHT MAN

1. Cedarville (5) 8-0 25

2. Rapid River 7-1 16

Kingsford and Menominee are one-two on all ballots this week after the Flivvers downed Gladstone 49-28 and the Maroons took out cross-border rival Marinette, Wis., 48-26.

After Negaunee comes No. 4 Ishpeming with nine poll points. The Hematites shot down Newberry 29-6 in non-league play. All of the top four teams are currently 7-1.

In the "Mapetology" projections of the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoff field at snooze2you.com, Marquette appears to be slotted into Division 3, while Menominee and Kingsford (in that order, despite Kingsford's head-to-head win) would be the top two seeds in Region 1, District 1 in Division 5.

In Division 6, Negaunee is locked with 8-0 Boyne City in a fight for the top district seed, while Calumet and Manistique (both 5-3) are likely to be seeded in that order if they win their Week 9 games and qualify for the postseason automatically.

Ishpeming currently appears like it could be the only U.P. team in the Division 7 bracket, though it is likely to be the top seed in its district and region, which would mean homefield advantage through three rounds of the playoffs.

The top two in the Division 8 poll remain unchanged after North Dickinson took down Lake Linden-Hubbell and St. Ignace routed Pellston 61-0. Both teams are champs of their respective leagues, the Mid-Eastern Football Conference and Ski Valley Conference North Division, which could make for an interesting discussion over the Team of the Year designation currently held by St. Ignace in the category.

The Nordics continue to have three first-place votes and 23 poll points. The Saints have two first-place votes and 22 points.

Stephenson, a 49-6 winner at Munising last week, jumped ahead of both of them into the No. 3 spot with 11 points, with Gogebic fourth on 10 and FP fifth on five.

L'Anse and Pickford both received two votes apiece.

Outside of the Miners, the biggest winner Saturday in Wakefield is probably L'Anse. The Trojans' loss canceled out the effect of the Purple Hornets' home defeat to Northland Pines in playoff projections.

This means that if both teams win Week 9 home games, they are likely to play each other, though exactly where may come down to a lot of number crunching. After eight weeks, L'Anse has the higher playoff point average, 45.375 to 44.446.

Gogebic, which at 5-2, is also into the playoffs, is highly likely to play at North Dickinson in the first playoff round to complete Region 1, District 1.

In Region 1, District 2, St. Ignace will be the top seed. North Central will have to win at Stephenson this week to avoid worrying about getting in as a 5-4 team, while Pickford and Stephenson look like a good bet in the other matchup.